


Infinity War & Fix-it

by Purple_ducky00



Series: Ducky's Avenger fics [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 11:36:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15412050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Following "Gasoline", Penny and Bucky take you thru the Infinity War and the events following.





	Infinity War & Fix-it

Penny’s POV  
Well I’m home at the tower. It’s kind of weird, things are kind of back to normal- like before Captain America and his band of not-so-merry people returned. Wanda and Vision are gone; Rogers, Natasha, and Sam are on some mission; Clint is back with his family; Scott went somewhere with Hope Van Dyne; and Bruce went with Thor to visit some planet in space. Heimdall and Brunhilde are keeping watch over the Asgardian colony. Oh, and James moved out before I got home. Sometimes I think I see him in Central Park, but when I really look, I realize it’s not him. My stupid brain is playing tricks on me.

So it’s just Rhodey, Tony, Pepper, and me. Once in awhile, Peter stays for a weekend. Shuri comes over a lot.

Last week, Tony had a nightmare about something coming to Earth and wiping out about half of the world population. So, of course, he’s had several panic attacks. He’d been studying nanotech, which basically uses little particles called nanites that lock together to build whatever you program them to. He built a casing around his arc reactor so that all he had to do was tap the arc reactor and the nanites would come out or go back in. He built extra boosters and things for space travel. It’s an awesome suit- I just… wish he’ll never have to use it.

Then it happens… Bruce lands in the Sanctum Sanctorum, warning Dr. Strange about this being called Thanos. Apparently, he wants all the infinity stones that Thor had told us about. Tony went with them, telling Pepper to get back to the tower. She then came to me, sobbing, saying that Tony was on board the space ship that had landed.  
“And what he doesn’t know…” She takes a shaky breath. “He told me he had a dream that we had a kid together, and I laughed him off, saying that I wasn’t pregnant…. But I think I am…”

I give her a hug, wrapping her up in my arms. “Pepper, he must have had a reason to do that. I mean, he doesn’t seem to have a death wish anymore…”

FRIDAY interrupted us with a “I’m sorry, but I have a very insistent May Parker at the door.”

I blanch. “Is Peter with Tony? Send her up.”

May bursts in the door, wild with panic. “Where is Tony?”

“He’s on the spaceship…” I say.

“No! No! Tell me you’re wrong!” She sits down, shaking. “I got a call from Peter, saying he won’t be home for dinner as he’s helping ‘Mr. Stark’ with something.”

“What do we do?” Pepper asks after a moment of silence.

“I’m calling Rhodey.” I say.

Pepper nods and wraps her arms around May.

“Penny.” Rhodey says when he picks up. “I have to talk to Ross about this. We can’t actually do something unless the committee oks it, you do know that, right?”

“I know. I’m coming to the conference room now. I don’t care if Ross doesn’t think I should be there. I’m going to be there. Did anyone get ahold of Sam or Rogers?”

“Yes, they’re coming back with Wanda and Vision. Something happened in Scotland. I have a feeling something like what happened here. Hey,” Rhodey says when I arrive at the conference room.

In a few minutes, Ross and the Accords Council were holographed at the table in the conference room.

“Hello Colonel.” Ross starts out, then he sees me. “What is she doing here? We don’t need one of Stark’s paramours here – this is important business.”

I laugh at that. “Well, you know, Tony is funding this all, and it is his building, and he gave me free access to anywhere here. So you better start talking or nothing’s going to get done, and the world will burn.”

The Council talks for a while, and I see Bruce sneak in, nodding at him. A few minutes later, Rogers, Natasha, Wanda, Sam, and Vision walk in- Sam helping Vision stand.

“Rogers,” Ross says, “Is your mission complete?”

“No, we hit a dead end and figured this was more important,” Rogers tells him.

“Did we give you permission to? You disobeyed yet again, these things don’t get forgiven.” Ross is irate.

“I’m not looking for forgiveness, and I’m way past asking for permission.” Steve replies and I roll my eyes. “Earth just lost her best defender , so we’re here to fight. And if you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you, too.”

Ross sputters and says something to Rhodes to arrest them. Rhodey just pushes the holograph away. It fades away so that the only ones in the room are the living, breathing people. “You guys look like crap.” He says.

“Well it wasn’t exactly 5 star hotel rooms.” Sam replies.

“Well I think you look great.” Bruce says as he walks out of the shadows.

Natasha stiffens, then says, “Hi Bruce.”

He nods. “Nat.”

“Well, this is awkward.” Sam mutters.

They then go on a conversation about the Mind Stone in Vision’s head. He wants them to destroy it, and only Wanda can do it. And of course, she doesn’t want to. They argue about it until Bruce says he thinks they can remove the stone and keep Vision alive, but as we didn’t have the tech for it, we’d have to go to Wakanda.

After deciding this, Steve looks up and asks, “Where’s Bucky?”

“He moved out a while ago….” I say.

“He’s actually in Wakanda,” Rhodey cuts in. “Shuri invited him for a visit.”

“Alright, then let’s go. Penny, why don’t you get back to…” Steve says, but I cut in.

“Excuse you. I’m going with.”

“Penny, there’s going to be a fight…” Sam tells me.

“And? I can shoot a gun. James taught me how to fight hand-to-hand. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

“That’s true.” Bruce shrugs.

“Man, Tony’s gonna kill me if something happens to you,” Rhodey mutters.

“Chillax,” I tell him. “I’ll be fine.”  
+++++++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
I was staying in my old hut when T’Challa and Okoye stop past.

“Is everything ok?” I ask.

T’Challa proceeds to tell me about the threat. I don’t really want to fight, but I know it’s inevitable so tell them I will go with them. They meet with Steve and the others as they land in the quinjet.

“Who do we have?” I hear Steve ask.

T’Challa tells him what guards he has, then turns to me, “And…”

“A semi-stable 100yr old.” I say with a grin. I notice the way Steve’s eyes brighten when he sees me.

“Buck! How are you?” He asks.

“Not bad, for the end of the world.” I reply. Rhodes, Sam, and I are left outside as the others accompany the king to Shuri’s lab. It’s only then that I realize Penny is here.

After about 5 minutes, ships from the sky start raining down to the Earth. The ones hitting the vibranium shield explode immediately. I love this place.

The others return and set up a battle stance for the aliens to come at.  
++++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
They told me to stay with Vision and Shuri. Shuri gives me a pair of mitts that look like repulsors, but with vibranium. Tony would be so proud of me to obtain these things. He loves Shuri and is always bouncing ideas off of her, but she refuses to let him check out the vibranium unless he stops past Wakanda, but he hasn’t had the chance to visit yet. Hopefully he can when we get through this.

I’m mainly standing with Wanda and watching the battle outside grow larger. When a set of tractor tire looking machines come up out of the ground, Wanda leaves to stop them from crushing everyone on the field below.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain on the left side of my stomach. It feels like I have been impaled, which means Tony… Now it feels like someone with a huge hand is gripping my head tightly, making it feel ready explode, like a bad headache. I gasp and fall to the ground in pain. One of the Doras runs over.

“Are you ok?” She asks.

“Yes I am, I’ll be fine.” She helps me up just as a creepy looking dude bursts through the door with a stick- it kinda looks like the scepter Loki used.

I aim and fire, but he deflects it with his staff. Shuri clears the neuron screen and pulls out her guns. He pushes her out of the way, but Vision’s gone. He jumps out the window after Vision. I run to follow, but pain overtakes me. It feels like someone is ripping me from my body. What are they doing to Tony? I’m paralyzed. After a few minutes, I hear in my comm. “Cap, that’s him.” And the pain recedes. Other than slight pain where the stab wound should be, I’m ok. I jump out the window after Vision, too.

Wanda is holding off Thanos, I’m guessing, off while destroying the Mind Stone. I dive for his legs, but he kicks me away. I get up again, but he has already turned back time to reincarnate Vision. As he drops the Mind stone onto his gauntlet, Thor comes flying in with a new axe, lightning sparking everywhere. He throws it and it hits Thanos’ chest.

“I told you you’d pay for this,” he says as he drives the blade into the titan’s chest.

Thanos howls in pain, then says, “You should have gone for the head.” And snaps his fingers. He then falls back through a portal, leaving Thor’s axe behind him.

Rogers runs up. “Thor, where’d he go?” When Thor doesn’t answer, he asks again, with a little more panic. “Thor! Where’d he go?”

“Steve?” James comes into view, then suddenly fades away into dust. Then it seems like everyone is fading into dust around us- Wanda, T’Challa, Sam, the tree dude- Groot?- that Thor brought with him, and many of the soldiers. Okoye and Steve seem the most shaken.

“Again. He’s gone… again.” Rogers mumbles, looking numb. I sit beside him and put my hand on his shoulder. Everyone’s exhausted, so we just sit there for a while. Okoye gets up first to “see if the queen and princess are still… ok.”

The others follow until the only ones left are Steve, Thor, and I. Thor is just standing there with no expression on his face. Steve is staring lost into the distance.

“Alright, we gotta get up,” I say. “C’mon, lets go.” I hop up and pull Steve as best I can to his feet. I wrap his arm around my shoulder so that he can lean on me. “Thor, let’s go. Please?” I wave at him.

He looks at me, then follows. At the castle, I offer to stay and help with anything, but Queen Ramonda shakes her head sadly, and politely tells us it would be better if we had left as they could try to get their country back on track again. I thanked her, apologized for the damage caused, letting her know that if there was anything we could do to help, we would do it. We then boarded the quinjet and left for home. Steve clung to me the whole way home. It’s s to say that he wasn’t 100% or he wouldn’t be near me. Once we got home, I got everyone except Thor to go to bed and sleep. He told me that he wouldn’t be able to, so there was no point.

“I failed.” He tells me. “I failed and I lost everything. How can they expect me to rule now? I’d be terrible at it. I can’t…” I wrapped him up- well, as far as my arms would reach- in a hug.

“It’s not your fault. Normally a stab to the heart kills people or beings.”

“But I… see, I lost everything to Thanos before this, and now, because of me, everyone else lost things, too. Is this how Tony feels with Ultron?”

“I’d imagine. Don’t beat yourself up. What’s done is done. Either way, they will have to deal with it. I know that sounds cold right now, but its true. Just… get some rest, ok? I have to talk to Pepper.” I had told Pepper to stay on Tony’s floor, and I’d be up as soon as I was able.

She hugs me tightly when I step in the door. “Is everything ok? What happened?”

“We took a big hit. Thanos wiped out half the population. James, Sam, Wanda, and T’Challa are gone.”

“What about Tony and Peter?”

I shrug helplessly. “I… I don’t know. They weren’t… there.”

Suddenly the squeezing on my head is back, more like yanking hair. “Ow!” I put my hands on my head.

“Penny! What’s the matter?” Pepper cries.

“Nothing…. Just getting a headache…. Must be tired.” I know I won’t be sleeping until probably tomorrow night. By the time I get to my room, it’s gone. Huh. Tony, what’s going on?  
++++++++  
The next day- Penny’s POV  
I decide to go for a run this morning to try to clear my head… Steve offered to go with me, but he’s exhausted. I think he may have cried all night. I don’t blame him.

Going for a run was a baaaad idea. Like really bad. There’s so much destruction, and people are angry. Those who recognize me hurl insult about the Avengers at me. On the way home, I’m stopped by a man with a knife.

“What happened to my family?” He yells. I pull my earplugs out of my ears.

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know.”

“They’re dead! And you guys killed them!” He raises the knife.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I put my hands up. “I understand that you lost people. Everyone did! There’s nothing we can do about it!”

The guy seems to calm for a minute, then while still holding onto my arm, says conversationally, “You know, I always hated Stark. He has a huge ego and seems to think all problems will go away just by throwing money at it. Like people died in New York, yesterday and in 2012. And what does he do? Sends the Stark Relief Fund. Well, that’s not gonna bring the people back, will it? So the only way he can feel our pain is for him to lose people of his own.” Before I can react, he stabs me in the stomach. I let out a cry of pain. “I don’t know what you are to him, but obviously something.” He pulls the knife out, stabs me twice more, pushes me to the ground, then runs away as people start to gather.

There are shouts of, “Call 911!” but I don’t remember much as I black out. I wake up to Pepper sitting beside me in the hospital. My stomach hurts. When she sees me awake, she wipes her eyes.

“Penny. Do you know what happened?”

“Yea… got stabbed.” My mouth feels weird when I’m talking.

“Yea. Penny, the doctors thought you were dead. They said you shouldn’t have made it. You lost a lot of blood and your stomach was all messed up. I’m glad you did, because I couldn’t imagine…” She starts to cry again. “Why am I crying so much? I never cry this much!”

“Hormones.” I say.

At that time, the doctor walks in. “Good afternoon, Ms. Potts. Could you step out for a few moments, please?” When she leaves, he turns to me. “Hello, I’m Dr. Relsing. How are you feeling?”

“Stomach hurts.”

“Well, it took quite a beating. You were out for 5 days, Ms. Dixon, and to be quite honest, I’m not sure how you’re still alive. It’s going to be marked down as one of those ‘miracle healings’.”

I nod.

“Let me take your tests, and then your visitor can come back.” When he left, Pepper comes back in.

“Hey, Thor and Bruce are here. Do you want to see them?”

“Yea…”

Thor and Bruce walk in. “Penny! It’s good to see you awake!” Thor exclaims.

“Thor.” I smile.

We talk (well, they do, and I listen) for a little while until a thought pops into my head. “Thor.” I grab his sleeve. When he turns to me, I say, “Heimdall….”

“Yes, Heimdall. What about him?”

“Find Tony?”

“I’m sorry, Penny, but he was taken by the snap.”

No! A tear runs down my cheek. Suddenly, my vision whites out. Pain like you wouldn’t believe starts riveting through my body. It feels like I am being beaten, whipped, burnt, bit, poked…. Everywhere all at once. I try to move away, but I just rock and shake the bed. A doctor runs in. I don’t know what happens after that- I’m distracted by the pain….  
+++++++×+  
Pepper’s POV  
“I’m sorry, Penny, but he was taken by the snap.” Thor is telling Penny about Heimdall.

She lies still- a lone tear slipping down her cheek. Suddenly, she goes stiff, then starts writhing on the bed like a madman. A doctor runs in, as her machines are going off.

“What happened?” He asks after she settles down.

“I- I had told her the fate of a friend of ours. Did I trigger something in her?”

“That didn’t… look like an epileptic fit…” Bruce says slowly. “It looked like she’s in pain.”

“I know, but I’m not reading pain levels in her body…”

Does that mean… Tony’s… hurt? I gasp and walk out of the room, tears falling..  
+++++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
I had been nonresponsive for four days, they tell me. Do you know how when you hurt yourself, it hurts really bad for a few minutes, then it seems to get better, even though it hasn’t started healing yet? That’s what happened to me. I still feel tremendous amounts of pain, but my body is getting used to it, in a way.

When we leave the hospital, I tell them I want to stop by the Sanctum Sanctorum. Wong greets me at the door.

“I have a question about soulmates…” I tell him. “They told me I had a mortal injury, but I didn’t die. Could there be a reason…?”

Wong sighs. “I am not your royal wizard…. But I will check this this last time.” He projects something into the air in front of me. “Yes, it looks like your soulmate is cursed. He cannot die, so now you can’t either. That is all I know.”

“He… can’t die? Why?”

“I do not know. Now is there anything else?”

“No. Thank you. I’ll go now.”

As I go to leave, Wong calls me back into the room. “Ms. Dixon. I understand you are in terrible pain?”

“Yes. Which means Tony is…” I don’t even want to say it.

“You are able to take his pain so that he will feel none. I’d advise against it, but it is possible.”

“How do I?”

“Touch the skin behind your left ear. And think about your soulmate.” I do so and collapse on the floor in pain. How does one have a tolerance for such pain? I feel as if I could explode from it.

Wong removes my finger from behind my ear. The pain lessens to what I’m used to. “I warned you, Miss.”

I sit up, gasping. “Thank you. I’ll go now.”

Outside is a group of paparazzi. “Penny, have you heard from Mr. Stark? Is he home?” “Penny, I heard Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark are engaged. Does this not put you in an awkward situation?” “Penny, can we see your stab wounds?” I brush past them and get in the car. “Happy, can we go home?”

“Sure, Penny. Move out of the way!” He yells at the reporters standing in front of the car. “Get a real job!!”

There’s a spaceship sitting on the lawn when we get back home. My heart leaps to my throat. “Is that Tony?” I hop out of the car. Thor and the talking raccoon -Rocket?- are talking to a woman who looks like she’s made out of metal parts. Talk about steampunk…. Ok that was a little mean. I walk up, and Thor turns to me and says, “Ahh, here she is. Nebula, this is Penny. Penny, this is Thanos’ daughter, Nebula.”

“I’m guessing that as Thor is not attacking you, you are not allied with your father?” I stick my hand out to shake.

She takes my hand. “We have a mutual hate for each other. I’m here to help you kill him. That’s all I’ve wanted for years. Also, I ha message for you from Tony Stark.”

“He’s not with you?” I gasp.

“No, can we go inside? I think he’d like it to be private.”

“Yes, yes, let’s go.” I lead her into the house to my room.

“I can tell you, but I think it would mean more if you heard it from him. I honestly think emotions are weak, but it seems to motivate you humans.” She pulls her eye piece off and says, “Replay memory archived.”

It’s a video of Tony talking to her. “Yes, I can and can’t wait to get home. I mean, I can’t wait to get back to Pepper and Penny, but… I failed. I should have done more. I- I have to tell Peter’s -the spider kid- his aunt that he-he’s dead, and I tried…” There’s a bang. “What’s that?” He gets up to check the back of the ship.

Thanos appears through a portal. “Stark.”

Tony visibly stiffens. “Haven’t you done enough? You won.”

“I know, but I know your kind. You’ll try and try until you either win or die. So I could just kill you now, but I firmly believe in the stones choosing who lives and dies. They apparently chose you to live. And the wizard gave up the Time Stone for you so he apparently thinks you can stop me. So I’m going to put an end to this.” The Reality Stone shimmers around Tony. “You now cannot die- as the Stones have chosen, but I am taking you with me to the planet of the Maws. You killed their Alpha-they will not be very happy.”

Nebula steps forward. “Thanos. Let him go.”

He laughs. “You tramp. Be happy I’m letting you live.” Thanos then turns to Stark. “Do you want my daughter to relay a message for you?”

Tony looks at Nebula. “Penny, I’m sorry. I really, truly am.” I know he’s talking about the pain. The sadness on his face is overwhelming. “Tell Pepper I’m sorry, too. I couldn’t sit this one out. And May, explain to her that Peter is gone. Tell her she can blame me for the rest of her life. I definitely will blame myself for apparently eternity. I’m sorry, and I hope you can move on. You can act like I died and divvy out my will. I love you all.”

“Ok. Enough.” Thanos cuts in, then pulls Tony through a portal. The memory stops. Nebula watches me as I sink to the floor, crying silently. She awkwardly puts a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I’m not the greatest at stuff like this. I will offer my help in defeating Thanos, though.”

I throw a weak grin in her direction. “Thank you. I just… had a rough week. Tell me, though, what do you know about the Maws?”

“Don’t do that- you’ll just make it worse.” She tells me.

“That bad, huh.” I wipe my tears, then get up. “Ok. I have to pass on a few messages, then come up with a plan.”

“Count me in on your plan.”

I find Pepper and May, asking them to join me in the penthouse.

“Who’s in the spaceship, Penny?” Pepper asks.

“A woman named Nebula. She’s here to pass on a message from Tony. Pepper, he said to tell you he’s sorry. This was something he couldn’t sit out. And May, he said to tell you that Peter was taken… by the snap. He said you can blame him for the rest of your life- he definitely will blame himself.”

“No! Not Peter! Why….” May’s face is streaked with tears.

“Is Tony still alive?” Pepper asks.

“Yes… but it would be better if he wasn’t.”

“Penny! How could you say that?”

“Pepper… he can’t die. Thanos did something to him that he can’t. And now he’s in a lot of pain. That whole thing at the hospital… was from him.”

“But you seem to be doing ok now, right?”

“My body is more used to it, now, but I’m still in a lot of pain.”

Pepper gasps. “What are we going to do?”

“He said we could act like he died as there is no actual evidence that he survived the snap, but I’m going to try to save him.”

“You’ll get killed.”

“Nope. Can’t die.”

“Penny, just… be safe.” May says. “And know that I don’t blame Tony. Peter is pretty headstrong – he wouldn’t have listened no matter what anyone told him.”

“I know. I’ll be sure to tell him that when we save his butt.” I give them both a hug, then go to find Nebula.

“Ok… I think I might have a plan. I need Thor, you, and Rocket.”

We gather everyone to explain the plan. “Thor, Nebula, Rocket, and I are going to find Tony and Thanos. Hopefully we will return as soon as possible. Keep in touch with the Houston space station. We will try to keep in touch.”

“Don’t you think we should all go?” Steve asks.

“No Steve.” I tell him. “You need the rest and we need people to protect and defend this little blue planet.”

After we leave, Thor asks, “What’s the plan?”

“Nebula, do you know where Thanos would be?”

“He’s probably on Titan, using the reality stone to look like his old home to watch the sunset. Once we get there, what’s the plan?”

“Thor we need the gauntlet. Cut off his arm if needs be. If not, we’ll have to kill him right away. Nebula, go in for the kill. If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Rocket, use the ship to run interference. If the need arises, I am one he will attack. I can’t die, and as much I hate hurting Tony, this is the way we all make it out alive.”

“Penny, we will not put you in harm’s way.”

“That’s right. You won’t; I will. Don’t argue with me on this.”

“Are you sure? You haven’t had a great week.” Rocket asks.

“I’m positive. Let’s go.”

We arrive on Titan. Seeing Thanos, I whisper. “I’m going in for the distraction. You guys know what to do.”

I step out of the ship. “Hey! Over here!” I yell at him.

He walks over. “Hello child. Who brought you here? And what do you want?”

“It matters not how I got here. All you need to know is that you took a friend of mine, and I’m here to retrieve him.”

“I can’t reverse the snap, dear child. You must realize it had to be done.”

“First of all, you couldn’t just create more resources? I’m pretty sure obliterating half the universe was the way to go. Secondly, it wasn’t someone taken with the snap that I’m particularly worried about right now. I’m sure they’re having a peaceful rest.”

His eyes dawn with understanding. “Stark.”

“Yup. I’m giving you a chance to surrender peacefully and take me to him.”

“No. He’s the one who can stop this. And now… I’m going to stop you.” The scenes of Titan fade away into barren wasteland as a stream of purple power is sent my way. I try to scramble out of the way, but I a caught up in the torrent of power. My pain level increases drastically. Suddenly, it stops and Thanos walks over to me. I groan and roll over, struggling to get up.

“How are you not dead?” He wonders. Behind him I see Nebula running up to jump on his shoulders, but he turns and grabs her by the neck. “Ahh, daughter, I see. You tricked this poor girl into helping you. All she is receiving is pain.”

Rocket starts shooting him in the back. He arches forward, dropping Nebula. Stormbreaker comes racing through the air, cutting off Thanos’ left arm. “NO!” He yells. I reach out and push the arm away. Nebula jumps up and pushes him down.

“Now, dear father, I am going to kill you.”

“Just… do it quickly. We have to get to the Maw planet.” I tell her.

Thor walks up. “So your plan worked.”

“As long as Nebula is successful. I feel that giving him a nice, slow death will come back to bite us.”

Nebula pulled out a knife and slits Thanos’ throat. He gurgles up blood, then his eyes roll back in his head. She also runs the knife through his skull and his heart for good measure. “There- he should be dead.”

“Ok. Now what about the Maws?”

“I’d advise against taking the spaceship. They are telekinetics like their alpha, Ebony. We should go with as little as possible. You and Thor should go, using the space stone. I’d be little help, they’d pull me apart in seconds. We’ll wait for you.”

I nod, then double over from the pain. It feels like white-hot needles are being forced into my stomach. When this passes over, I say, “Let’s go.”

We pull the gauntlet off of Thanos’ dismembered arm. I slip it on my hand. A wave of power passes through me. I focus on the space stone and think of the Maw planet. A portal opens up and we go through. The sight in front of me makes me gasp. Tony is suspended in midair, spread out by his limbs. The Maws are driving things through him, burning him, doing unimaginable things to him, and he’s just… limp. All of a sudden, they see us. Several start to attack us, but Thor knocks them down with Stormbreaker. Apparently, telekinetics who aren’t worthy can’t stop it. I then focus on the mind stone, putting them under my control. They get Tony to safety, albeit unconscious, but no longer in danger of any added pain. I feel a sudden relief, but the pain’s still there.

A Maw carries him over, lying flat, and puts him in Thor’s arms. I focus on the space stone and think of Titan. In a flash, the Maws are released from the control of the mind stone and we are teleported back to Titan. Nebula and Rocket are there, waiting for us.

“You got him.” Nebula says. “Let’s go, then.”

Tony stirs in Thor’s arm, gasping for breath. Thor sits him up, letting his chest fill with air. The first thing he says when he is able is “Ow.”

I rush to him. “Tony, are you alright?”

“As I c-. Penny! What are you doing here?”

“We saved your sorry life.” I tell him, raising the gauntlet. “Now we need to get back to Earth.”

“Wait… before we go. I think I can bring everyone back. I can’t go home and face May. I can’t… And do you know, I think Pepper’s pregnant. So I have to go back. I can’t be my dad, you know?”

“Shhh! Calm down, Tones. What, hypothetically, would we have to do to reverse the snap?”

“We’d need a new gauntlet. And fast. There will be people coming to try to retrieve this.”

“Well, Nidavellir is…”

Tony waves his hand feebly. “No, no time. Thor, can you control your lightning?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, I’m going to need a screwdriver, a big piece of glass, and a wire that can hold a considerable amount of power.” Rocket produces the tools needed.

Tony uses the screwdriver to force the casing of the arc reactor in its correct position. He hooks the wire to it, placing several insulators on the wire. “Thor, I need you to produce the smallest amount of electricity as possible. Have it catch onto the wire… it needs to jumpstart the reactor.”

“Won’t it hurt?”

“It’s going to have to,” Tony replies grimly.

Thor complies, setting a little spark, then another, then another down the wire. I push my finger behind my ear, thinking of Tony. Immediately, I feel electricity run through my body, starting from my chest. Tony holds the piece of glass in front of him, and looks confused when he doesn’t feel the pain. The reactor shines bright, then projects a holograph onto the glass in front of Tony. It’s the plans of his suit. He customizes the left gauntlet to hold six stones. He rips the wire out when he’s done and taps his reactor. His suit wraps him up in a hug.

“Alright… the gauntlet.” He says. I hand it over to them. He pulls each stone off the glove onto his own, waiting after each one for the power to go down. When he sticks the last one on, he yells in pain so I quickly take it. It’s even worse than when I put on the gauntlet. He looks at me seeing that his pain was gone and that I was struggling to concentrate, and it dawns on him what I’m doing. “Penelope!” He yells.

Startled, I drop my hand. “Don’t ever do that again.” He tells me, somewhat angrily. By now, the power has settled. The stones have accepted him. Tony’s helmet comes off, and he looks at the gauntlet. “Now, reverse, reverse…” He mumbles. “Who knows exactly what he did?” He asks the group.

“He just raised his hand and…” Thor snaps his fingers.

“Ok… ok… I just don’t want to mess this up.” Tony confesses, sounding fearful. He looks at the gauntlet, squeezes his eyes shut, then snaps his fingers. The gauntlet smokes and the stones fall a bit, but the nanites in the armor adjust to fix it.

We just stand there, looking fearful. A dry wind blows dust across the planet. Suddenly, the dust takes shape. You see Peter, Stephen, and a group of people I assume Rocket knows because he runs over and launches himself on the human-looking man.

“Quill! Drax! Mantis! You’re back!” He sounds so happy.

“Mr. Stark! You did it! You saved us!” Peter runs up and pulls Tony into a hug.

Tony collapses against him. “I’m glad you’re ok, kid. I didn’t know what I would’ve done.”

Strange smiles happily at Tony. “I knew you could do it. I am sorry for your time at the Maw residence, though.”

“I’ll be ok.” Tony smiles.

I turn to look at Thor, who is standing off to the side. “I’ve lost…” He tells me as I walk over to him. “My family is… gone, and I’m not able to bring them back.”

Quill walks over to us. “Thank you Thor. Rocket says we wouldn’t be back without you. So I guess here’s the part where I thank you. So…” He shifts uncomfortably.

“Thank you, Quill. I will keep this in my memory.” Thor smiles at him.

“So where’s my ship?” Quill asks.

“It’s on Earth. We have to go back there.” Nebula replies.

We all pile into the spaceship and Rocket pilots us home. “Peter, put your mask on.” Tony tells him. “There’s going to be press, and they don’t know your identity yet.” He uses the reality stone to make his left hand look normal. “Alright. Let’s go. I have to put this somewhere.”

For sure, there is a huge crowd of press waiting for us to step out. Tony steps out first, followed by Peter, then me, Thor, Stephen, and the Guardians.

“Mr. Stark! What happened? Where were you? How did all those people die then come back to life?”

Tony raises his hand and says, “I will call a press conference once we get this all sorted out. Right now, I will not answer any questions.”

We file into the house, Tony going straight to his lab. Stephen and I follow. “Do you know what you’re going to do with this?” Stephen asks, gesturing to the gauntlet.

“Not at the moment. I’m going to remove the glove from the suit and put it… somewhere until we can decide what to do with it.”

“We could… separate the stones?” I ask. “Give Strange the time stone back, revive Vision, but the others…”

“We need Thor, Rogers, and Rhodes down here. T’Challa, too, when he has the chance to fly over.”

I pull out my phone to call Shuri. “Penny!” She exclaims when she answers. “They’re back! They’re all back!”

“I know. Can… is it a bad time to talk to T'Challa?”

“No. Brother… Penny is on the phone.”

“Hello?”

“T’Challa? It’s Penny. Is it a bad time to ask you to fly over to us? We… have some serious business to discuss, but can’t over the phone.”

“No. We were getting a jet ready to send your fallen ones over. I can come over, too.”

“Thank you. Can you bring Shuri and Vision also?”

“Yes. Penny. I just want to let you know that we…. Found everyone but Barnes. I’m not sure how Captain Rogers will take that.”

“Thank you for telling me. I will break it to him gently.” I run up the stairs to the common room where everyone is. “Ok everyone! King T’Challa is bringing everyone who fell in Wakanda back to us today. Steve, Thor, and Rhodey, can you come here?”

“Wait! Where is Tony?” Natasha asks.

“Down in his lab. Dr. Strange is helping tend to some injuries. You know how he is with that stuff.” Well, it was a half-truth. And it seemed to satisfy her.

Thor, Steve, and Rhodey walk over . “What’s going on?” Rhodey asks.

“Ok. First of all, the bad news. Steve, T’Challa said they couldn’t find James. They think he went off on his own.” Steve lets out an anguished cry at this.

“I know. I’m sorry. The good news is that Thanos is defeated, but when T’Challa gets here, we have a problem to throw at you. When he gets here, if I’m not around, escort him and Shuri to the lab. I have to find Pepper.”

Pepper and May are with Peter. “Penny! Where’s Tony?”

“He’s in his lab. There’s a…. Problem we have to deal with. T’Challa and Shuri are coming over to help. He will get to you as soon as possible. We have….” I drop my voice to a whisper, “the Infinity Stones, and they’re attached to Tony’s suit. He doesn’t want to leave the suit until we know what to do with them. Trust me, he wants to be with you.”

“Will they kill him?”

“No. We just don’t know what to do with them right now.”

The jet from Wakanda has arrived. Everyone walks in, being tearfully welcomed home. I lead T’Challa and Shuri to Tony’s lab. Steve, Rhodey, and Thor follow.

“Now that we are all here,” Strange says, “the matter which we are discussing is the Infinity Stones. As you see, we have all six. What do we do with them?”

“Should we split them up so that six of us has them? Stephen keeps the time stone, we give the mind stone back to Vision and revive him, then we have the reality, the power, the space, and the soul stone. Thor, T’Challa, Tony, and Steve all get one? Or should we give one to the Guardians?” I ask.

“As the aether was in Asgard’s possession before we gave it to the Collector, I will take the reality stone.”

“We will take the power stone. It will help us,” Shuri speaks up. T’Challa doesn’t argue.

“Will the soul stone help me find Bucky?” Steve asks hopefully.

Nebula steps forth out of the shadows. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I must warn you… Thanos had to give up the only thing he loved for the soul stone, so if it doesn’t apt you right away, it could cost you a lot.”

Tony went pale. “What did I lose?”

“You may not have lost anything – I’m just warning you. Also, I think it would be better to leave all the stones on Earth. They will be harder to take.”

“So none for the Guardians.”

“I guess… I will take the space stone, Tony. I can’t afford to lose Bucky.” Steve decides.

Tony pulls out several orb-like containers. “When I take each one off, I’ll put it in one of these. I’d highly recommend leaving them in there and locking them away for safekeeping.”

He goes to pull the time stone off the gauntlet, but it won’t budge. Instead, the stones seem to settle further inside the glove. I feel a burning on my hand. The stones go right through Tony’s suit into his hand. He now has six gems imbedded in the back of his hand. You can see them glisten in the light. We all stand there, shocked.

“Well, it looks like they’ve chosen where they will go,” Nebula speaks up. “Congratulations, Stark  
They have deemed you worthy.”

“But… why?” He whispers. “I’m really not worthy. Merchant of Death over here.”

“Tones. Don’t beat yourself up. Your fiancée is waiting for you upstairs. Go up and see her.” I tell him. He kisses my cheek and runs up.

Shuri speaks up. “About the Vision, I think I can revive him without the stone.” She goes on to explain how she had a screenshot of his neural wirings and she thinks she can replicate it. We tell her to go for it. After adjourning the meeting, we head back upstairs.

We have a big feast where everyone seems so happy. Steve, Thor, and Quill sit off to the edge looking a little downcast. I go over, “How are you guys doing?” I ask softly.

Quill speaks up, “I know I should be happy – I came back and most of my family is here, but I just lost Gamora. We had- we had just started a relationship, but I’ve in love with her for a long time. And Thanos killed her, and it was all in vain because in the end, his plan failed.”

Thor and Steve just shake their heads- I know their problems.

“Well, Peter – can I call you Peter? I think that now you just stick by your family and you’ll feel better in time. It hurts now, I know, but you’ll heal. It’s what she would’ve wanted.”

“Ok…” He says finally. “Do you think… while I’m here, I could go back to Missouri to my mom’s grave?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” I tell him.

Wanda walks up to me. “Thank you. I know I haven’t been the nicest person to you. I’m sorry for that, and I’d like to try to make amends.”

I give her a hug. “Definitely! You are forgiven.”

“Thank you.” She sniffs. “Thank you.”

I walk over to the Guardians, where Mantis is talking to Drax. “Hello!” I say brightly, offering my hand.

She hesitates. “I am an… empath. If I touch you, I will know what emotions you are feeling. This is an invasion of privacy.”

“No, it’s ok. I don’t mind. Maybe you can help me know what I’m feeling.” I smile at her.

She takes my hand. “You are feeling happy on the top, but there is underlying sadness with a little bit of hope. It is as if you are sad, and unsure if you should act on your sadness or not.”

“Yea, something like that.” I smile sadly.

She looks positively sorrowful. “What happened?”

“Someone I love broke my trust and heart. They apologized and asked if we could still be friends, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Have they done this before?” Drax asks.

“No, this person hasn’t, but friends before them have.”

“Do you still love this person?” He asks.

“Yes.” I answer.

“Then give him another chance.” Mantis says.

“I… just might. You know, Mantis, if you would want to stay on Earth, you could probably make a fortune being a therapist, but then you’d have to deal with other people’s problems.” I grin.

“Thank you for the compliment!” She grins back. “But I’d like to stay with my family.”

++++++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
I woke up on the Wakandan ground. There are other people around me, looking extremely happy. They must have been killed, too. How is it that we are back to life? It’s just my luck- being brought back to life. Just when it’d better if I’d stayed dead. I immediately find a place to hide so that no one sees me. When they all go back to the city, I creep into the quinjet. Sometime or another, they’ll take Wanda and Sam back to New York. I’ll just hitch a ride.

The Next Day  
T’Challa and Shuri bring Wanda, Sam, the tree, and Vision’s body with them on the quinjet. Wow. They’re leaving earlier than I thought. I hear T’Challa mention that “Captain Rogers will be upset about not finding Barnes”, and Shuri reply “We did the best we could in such short notice.” I really hope they didn't look too hard.

After a long-ish flight, we arrive in New York. Penny is waiting to greet them as they walk out of the jet. Steve and Thor are behind her – Steve is smiling through his sadness- being a good leader. After they go inside, I leave the quinjet to find somewhere to hide when the party’s over. It may be awhile, but I can wait.

+++++++++++++  
Pepper’s POV  
Where is Tony? I saw Penny and the others come up from hours lab. Is he seriously hiding down there? I get up to ask Penny when I hear a “Hey” behind my back. I turn and he's standing right behind me.

“Tony! How did I miss you? I saw the rest of them come up!” I hug him, sobbing.

“Hey, hey, hey it’s ok honey. I actually came up before them. You see,” he holds out his left hand. There are jewels imbedded in it! “I have a small problem.”  
  
“What is that?” I gasp.

“Shh! Shh! I’ll explain tonight… That is, if I'm forgiven enough to not sleep on the couch tonight.”

“Oh, Tony. You are definitely sleeping in the bed tonight. I have missed you so much. I also have something to tell you, but it can wait until tonight.” I smile and kiss him, clinging to him all the while.  
+++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
So…. What a party. Now they’ll have to deal with the Accords Council and Ross. I go to lie down in bed when there is a tapping at my window.

“James. This is the 25th floor. How the heck…”

“Shh! I don’t want anyone to know I’m here. Well, except you. Can I come in for a minute?” He asks. I nod. He climbs in the window. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you, but no one else can know that I’m back. I’ve caused enough problems as it is. I’m not going to kill myself, but I’m going off to live by myself again. Just… please don’t tell Steve.”

“James,” I tell him, “I don’t think I can do that. After giving Steve the tongue-lashing about Tony’s parents, it’s a little hypocritical to not tell him about this.”

He hangs his head. “I was afraid you’d say that. Just tell him I’m alive and I don’t want to be found. I’m sorry for bothering you.” He goes to leave the same way he came in.

“James, is this what you think is better for you, or better for everyone else? Because I forgive you and am willing to take another chance if you are.”

His eyes darken at this and he takes a step towards me, then hesitates. “I never stopped loving you.” He says, then pulls me in for a heavy kiss. Things start to get somewhere when he pulls back, looking guilty. “I’m going to leave tomorrow morning, so if you don’t want this…”

“No, I want it.” I tell him breathlessly. “You just have to keep in touch.”

“Will do.” He captures my mouth again, cradling my head in his left hand. I love the feel of the metal on my neck and in my hair.  
+++++++++++++++  
Tony’s POV  
Pepper and I are in bed, now.

“So, do you want to go first, or do you want me to?” I ask.

“You can.”

I exhale deeply. “Ok… you know the stone in Vision’s forehead?” At her nod, I proceed. “Welll, it’s one of six stones called Infinity Stones. Nebula’s father, Thanos, wanted all six of them so that he could make the universe a better place to live in – ‘balancing the universe’ is what he called it. With all six stones, he could snap his fingers, and half the universe would cease to exist. He succeeded, but when Thor, Penny, Nebula, and Rocket defeated him, they stole the gauntlet with the stones in it. After the snap, this gauntlet was messed up, so I used one of my gauntlets to hold the stones and reverse the snap. For whatever reason, they ‘chose’ me and welded themselves into my hand. But what if – what if I, like, royally mess up again, like with Ultron. Or what if they turn me bad? Will they be able to be stopped?” My right hand starts shaking.

“Tony.” Pepper is rubbing my back now. “Relax. It will be alright. They chose you for a reason, right? They obviously thought you were worthy enough to control them.”

“But we all know I’m not. I’m a step away from becoming a supervillain. Ask anyone.”

“Not those who really know you. They know you have such a sense of duty to protect this Earth and its people that it would kill you if you even thought about turning evil.” She kisses my cheek. “Now do you want to know my news?”

“Yes, darling.”

She holds out a pregnancy test. It’s positive. “Do you think Morgan would be a good boy or girl name?” She asks.

My eyes fill with tears. “I’m gonna have a kid. Oh, Pep, I’m so happy. This is… awesome news. I-I…”

“It’s ok, Tony, I’m glad you’re happy.”

++++++++++++++  
The Next Morning  
Bucky’s POV  
I wake up next to Penny, who’s stirring beside me. “Good morning” I whisper.

“Mornin” She mumbles, voice still gravelly with sleep. “You leavin now?”

“Yea, I have to go. I’ll stay in touch with you as much as I can, ok sweetheart?”

“Ah-kay. Be safe.” She rolls over toward me. “Come back soon.”

“I will. Goodbye.” I place a light kiss on her lips and slip out the window. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s for the best.  
+++++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
James just left. I didn’t want him to. He said he’d stay in touch, but will he be alone? Has he found someone else, and I’m now his Natasha? Something he could pass up? Stop it. I tell myself. It’s only your insecurities talking.

I get up, get a shower, and go down to the communal kitchen. “Good morning, everyone.”

“She lives!” Rhodey says. “We were wondering if you’d get up today. I think Tony and Pepper will be AWOL all day today.”

“Don’t blame them,” I reply as I pour myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. “It’s been a trying time for them.”

“You’re right, Colonel.” FRIDAY speaks up. “Boss has said to tell you that you won’t be seeing him today.”

“We did not need to know that.” Sam covers his ears.

“Oh please.” I roll my eyes at him. “It’s not like we don’t hear when you finally make a conquest.”

“Finally!” He puts his hand over his heart in offence. “I’ll have you know that the ladies love me.”

“Uh huh.” I crunch my cereal. “Have you guys seen Steve?”

“He’s still in his room. Pretty upset about Barnes.” Sam replies.

“Kay. Thanks.” I finish my breakfast in silence, then get up to find Steve.

I knock on his door. “Steve? It’s Penny. Can I come in?”

“Yea, go ahead.” His voice sounds lifeless.

I step inside. He’s just sitting on his bed. “Hey how’re you doing?” He shrugs. “I want you to know that James is alive.” As he perks up, I smile sadly. “But he said he has to take care of some things before he comes back and he would like it if you didn’t try to look for him. He will come back, he’s just not sure when.”

“Why is he doing this, Penny?” His eyes are bright with unshed tears.

“I don’t know, Steve, but it’s something he has to work out. It won’t do you any good to worry about him all the time. He can take care of himself. So why don’t you get up and do something?”

“Yea…. I’ll...do that. Thank you for telling me.”

“No problem. I’ll see you later.” I head back to the communal floor.

Three Days Later

I wake up feeling dizzy with an upset stomach. I have to rush to the bathroom to puke before it goes all over the floor. After getting dressed, I go down to the communal kitchen where Steve is cooking breakfast.

“Good morning Penny. I’m making waffles – you want one?”

Normally, I love waffles, but today my stomach turns over at the thought of them. “I’m sorry, they don’t sound appetizing at the moment.”

“Are you ok?” Wanda asks. “You looked a little green there.”

“I think so. Just a little queasy this morning.”

“Tell me about it.” This comes from Pepper. She and Tony walk in hand-in-hand. “This morning sickness is wearing me out.”

“Wait…. Penny has morning sickness? I didn’t know you were pregnant.” Sam tells me.

“It’s news to me, too.” I reply. “I mean, there’s a chance, but I think it’s just a stomach bug.”

“Well, I have another test upstairs if you want it.” Pepper tells me.

“Thanks. I guess I’ll just… make sure.”

+++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
I am in Helsinki. I feel that this is out of the way enough that I can focus on my mental state before I force myself back on the Avengers. I get a job in a forge, where long sleeves and gloves are needed at all times. No one needs to know who I am. I rent a small furnished apartment; I’ve gotten used to beds. I have also procured a therapist, with a document saying they will never share anything with anyone as I used to be a spy who still has government secrets. If anything gets out, I will have a lawyer drag him through the mud, ruining his life.

I keep in touch with Penny weekly, either with a series of texts or a phone call. I’m using a burner phone, and she understands. A week after I started talking with her, she told me she had something to tell me that might make me want to return home. In a panic, I had asked her if everyone was ok. After she assured me that, yes, everyone was ok, I asked her to not tell me yet. I’d rather not feel guilty about not coming home. As soon as I was ok with myself, I’d go back. She told me that was fine – she’d wait, but I see a bit of hurt in her voice. I guess it’s hurting her that I’m not around, but this is something I need to do.

+++++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
Well, it turns out that I am pregnant. And I’m the only one who knows who the father is. Several people have asked me if I knew, but I refused to tell them, saying “It’s better now that he doesn’t know.” I think Tony’s figured out who he is; everyone else thinks he’s a lowlife. I’m about five months in now, and everyone seems to be doing better. Steve’s been going about his life normally, Vision’s back and Wanda’s happier now, and Thor is back to smiling. Everything seems right in the world, except that it’s been a week, and James hasn’t contacted me. I’m getting a little antsy. Maybe he forgot or just lost his phone. I’ll wait a few more days before I panic.

++++++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
I really, really hate Hydra. Somehow, they found me and sent a squadron dressed as a SWAT team to capture me. Only way they did it was cuz they tranq’ed me. Now… I’m stuck in a Hydra base with my arms in taser bonds. They are trying to trigger me, but the princess helped me with that. I’m afraid they’re going to put me back in the chair. I need to get a hold of Penny, pronto. I feel my phone in my breast pocket – they didn’t take it? I scan the room – there is no one there.

“Hey Siri,” I say quietly.

“Tell me what you’d like me to do,” her voice 7sounds loud.

“Share location with Penny,” I say.

“Sharing location with Penny.” Suddenly two guards run into the room, reaching inside my shirt. I bite them.

“Ow! You freak!” One yells and tranq’s me again. He must’ve taken my phone because it’s not there when I wake up.

++++++++××+×+×+  
Penny’s POV  
I just got a text from James. He shared his location with me. It’s in… Russia? I take a screenshot. He told me he’s in Helsinki. He wouldn’t go back to Russia willingly. I jump up and walk as quickly as my belly would let me to Tony’s lab.

“Tones. Ummm…. I think James is in trouble.”

“Why’s that, Ell?”

“Cuz he just sent me his location, right? And it’s in Russia, then the location went blank as if the phone died or something. Don’t both of them seem a little suspicious?”

“Yea…. They do…. Let me call Stephen.” He picks up his phone. After a few minutes of talking, Stephen walks through a portal.

“So James, the Winter Soldier, is captured? He must be going soft.” Stephen remarks.

“No time for jokes, let’s go.” Tony replies. The space stone in his hand glows as Tony’s suit closes around him and they disappear through a portal.

++++++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
What the heck? Ok, who’s…. What is going on? Tony and another goateed man are fighting the Hydra agents. The other dude has a cape on…. What is he? Some magician or something, obviously, with the stuff coming out of his hand. Somethings weird with Tony’s repulsors, too. There’s a purple light coming out of them. After the agents are all dead, Tony walks over to me.

“You ok, Barnes?”

“Yea… I think. What's going on? Who's he?”

“I'm Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts.”

“He's a wizard, Harry.” Stark grins. “Do you want to go back to Finland or back home with us?”

“Can – can we stop past my apartment and let and let me get a few things? I have to cancel my lease.”

“No problem. What’s the address?” When I tell him, a blue portal opens up and we step through into my apartment. It’s a mess.

“Hydra agents…” I mumble.

Tony whistles. “Whoo! They did a number.”

There’s a knock at my door. It’s my landlord. “Vaan! What happened here?” He asks angrily, then he sees Tony. “Oh Mr. Stark! What are you doing here?”

Tony smiles his press smile. “Hello! Mr. Vaan here was targeted by one of our enemies. He’s terminating his lease now. I will be glad to pay for any damages caused.”

“Tony, you don’t….” I am interrupted by my landlord exclaiming his thanks.

“Just send me a bill, and don’t bill this man anymore. Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going.” Tony nods at me to get what I need. I grab a few sets of clothes and my notebooks. After Mr. Vulvich leaves, we portal back to Tony’s lab. Bruce is there.

“Hey, Penny’s upstairs sleeping. She asked me to wait for you, and I had something to work on.”

“Thanks Bruce.” Tony then looks at me. “You’re free to go wherever. Maybe see Steve soon.”

“Thank you, Tony.” I walk upstairs. The first person I see is Steve.

“Bucky! You came back!” He pulls me into a bone-crushing hug.

“Yea, Stevie, I’m back.” I smile. “I feel ok now.”

“I’m so happy! Now everyone can be happy. Do you know Penny, Thor, and some of the Guardians killed Thanos and rescued Tony, who reversed Thanos’ snap?”

“Yea. I was filled in.” I tell him. “Hey, do you mind if I go say hi to everyone else, then I’ll catch up with you?”

“That’s fine, Buck. I’m just… happy to see you.”

Scott walks in when Steve says this, snickers, and says, “That’s what he said.” Steve turns a crimson.

“Hi Scott.” I grin at him, to which he mock-faints in shock that I am smiling. I roll my eyes and leave the room.

I see Wanda and Vision first. They seem to be happy, enjoying each other’s company. Sam claims he didn’t miss me, but I know he did. Rhodes and Peter welcome me warmly, but I know they still don’t trust me to the fullest. Natalia apologizes to me, then leaves the room. Pepper’s pregnant? I’m happy for her and Tony. Now the only ones I haven’t seen are Clint, Thor, and Penny. Clint, I’m told, is at his farm with his family. I stop when I see Thor walk out of Penny’s room, holding a tray. Are they… together?

“Ah, Barnes!” Crap. He sees me watching. “It’s good to see you back. Penny is in there, she said she’d like to see you as soon as you were ready.” He nods to her door, then walks to the elevator.

Well here goes. Steeling myself for the worst, I knock on her door. “Who’s there?”

“It’s James.”

“Oh! You’re back! Come in!”

She’s sitting in bed when I walk in. “Hey, James, how are you?”

“I’m doing pretty good even though I just got tranq’ed twice today.” She’s so pretty. I’ve missed her.

She grimaces. “Yea… can see how that’d be bad. Come sit down.” She motions to the chair beside her bed.

“Are… you feeling ok?” I ask her as I sit down.

“Yea, just a little morning sickness – let me tell you, it’s not just morning.” She laughs.

Wait… she’s pregnant? “Oh… you’re pregnant. Congratulations. How far along are you?”

“About six months.” She tells me kind of shyly. Six months. I count back in my head. Wait.

“Is it… is it…is the baby mine?” The words tumble out of my mouth.

She studies my face for a few seconds before nodding, “Yes, she’s yours.”  
++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
I nod. “Yes, she’s yours.” Hopefully, he doesn’t reject me.

His face lights up with a grin. “I’m going to have a little girl?” I nod again. I can see the gears turning in his head, and he asks, “Can-can I be a part of her life?”

“Of course. You’re her father. Why would you think?” I trail off wordlessly.

“I just… When I left, we hadn’t really, um, clarified where we both stand with each other. I know, we… had sex, but I wasn’t sure how we left it.”

“Well, how would you like to go forward? I ask him.

“I’d love to go full-out with you. I still love you, but I did hurt you deeply so I understand if you don’t want to. I’m willing to do whatever so just outline our relationship as you would like, and I will follow it.” He tells me, looking down at his feet.

I reach out and touch his cheek, making him look at me. “James. What you did… hurt me terribly. I don’t know if you know, but this has happened before – several times, but you were the first one to apologize and not blame it on my failure to be a good partner.” He growls at this. “Also, it was the Black Widow who seduced you. We can also give you an allowance because she is an emotional manipulator.”

His face scrunches up in slight anger. “No. It was my fault. I trained her! I should have known what she was doing!”

“But you wouldn’t have known that she would want to hurt me. You had no idea.”

“Doesn’t mean I blame myself any less.” He mumbles.

“It’s ok. I forgive you, and I’m willing to give you a second chance if you want it.”

“Thank you Penny. I appreciate it.” The smile he sends my way makes me feel super happy.

++++++++++++++  
Bucky’s POV  
Well, today’s the big day. Penny and I are getting married! I’m standing at the altar waiting for her. Only a few minutes more! The procession is starting – here comes our little Guen (Guenivere) carrying a basket of flowers. She diligently scatters the petals behind her u til she looks up and sees me. “Daddy!” She squeals and drops the basket. Luckily, Wanda snags her before she gets to me. Guennie loves Vision. She sits quietly between him and Wanda. Morgan, Pepper and Tony’s son, is next, carrying the rings. He is the spitting image of Tony, down to the sneaky little grin on his face right now. He stands over to the side, waiting for the bridal party to walk down the aisle. T’Challa and Shuri are first, then Sam and Thor. Yes, Thor is a bridesmaid. Penny insisted it as he was her second closest friend, and, of course, Thor immediately agreed. Steve and Pepper come next. And here they come… Tony and – oh she’s beautiful! – Penny. I feel my eyes start to water. And to think, I almost lost her forever. Penny asked Tony to give her away because he was her family. He cried and agreed. He kisses her cheek, then takes a front row seat. Now it’s time for the vows.

“James. Jamie. Jamifer.” She starts out, grinning at me. “You are the best thing that happened to me. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m not… an independent person, so to speak. I need people around me, people who care for me.” Her voice catches. “Without you, I’d probably die at like age 40 with alcohol poisoning. And I know, we had some rough patches, but that, I think, just strengthened us. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, through thick and thin, in sickness and health, through good times and bad. Together we can get through anything. I love you.”

I tear up again. “Penelope. I – I love you more than anything else in this world. You’re my first thought in the morning, my last thought at night, and most of the ones in between. I promise to protect you and love you through everything, no matter how bad, til death do us part. I love you.”

The minister asks for the rings. Morgan stands proudly, giving the rings to us, then runs back to Tony, sits on his lap, and hides his face on his dad’s shoulder. After we exchange rings, the minister says, “You may kiss the bride.” Well… I am more than happy to do so.  
++++++++++++  
Penny’s POV  
Well, I now am a married woman. You’d think I’d be tired of smiling by now, but I can't seem to stop. Sam and Steve both made toasts for James – Sam’s was humorous as Steve’s was more heartfelt. Pepper gives a maid-of-honor toast, then Tony stands up, oozing with the Stark charm.

“You know, Penny is a very good friend of mine. So much that tabloids had great stories about us. I’ve been asked countless times this week how I felt about Penny marrying James, if I wished things turned out different for us. And I'm married! To an amazing woman. So I honestly told them, ‘No. Never. I can feel her happiness. Believe me, I feel like I'm on a high. Which, forgive me as I go off on a tangent for a minute, with the arrival of our little Guennie," He winks at her, and she giggles, "I can tell you – a kick in the nuts?” He scoffs. “Nothing compared to giving birth. Anyways, I wish the best of luck to my best friend and the man that makes her so happy. To Penny and James!” He lifts his sparkling cider glass high.

Sam leans over to Steve and whispers, “Ok. Can't beat that one.”

I roll my eyes. Of course they competed for best speech. Now it’s time for dancing. James and I had been doing the dance from I’ve Had the Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing. After we dance that, Tony pulls me into a dance.

“Soooo… come here often?” he asks, winking.

“Oh Antonio, I can’t. I’m now a married woman!” I say dramatically in a terrible Southern belle accent. “You can’t tempt me lahk that!”

He throws back his head and laughs loudly. “Oh, you’re the best. And you wonder why the paparazzi thinks there’s something going on here.”

“Well, after a while, I figured it was useless to try to correct them. I mean tabloids are always right, right?”

“Right.” He smiles at me. “So that’s why they kept at it – cuz you were fueling the fire!”

“Not exactly, but that’s kind of how I got Ross to let me in on the fight in Wakanda. He called me your paramour, so in turn I told him that you have me full access to everywhere so he’d better start planning, or we’d all die.”

“Well put.” He grins. The song ends, and James walks up.

“I’m just trying to quell the rumors right away. You guys look great dancing together, and the paparazzi are having a field day with it. So I'm here to get my wife back before the infamous playboy steals her away… apparently again.” He laughs.

Tony puts his hands up. “She's all yours. Besides, although my wife doesn't matter in these tabloids, she matters a whole lot to me. I’m gonna go find her.”

 _Later that night_  
Finally, some moments to ourselves! Of course, this is when we have left on our honeymoon. Guen is staying with Tony and Pepper. People keep saying that she and Morgan are gonna end up together, but I have a feeling they’re just going to end up close friends. I guess we'll see.

“James,” I ask him, “do you ever worry that the tabloids are true – that there's something going on between me and Tony?”

“No.” He tells me. “At one time, I may have, but if you think about it, there have been times when you'd have had nothing to lose if you were caught together, and you guys were still like ‘heck to the no’ and also, I trust you when you say there's nothing.”

I snuggle closer and kiss him. We’ll be ok.

 

 


End file.
